LESS CATALOG, MORE CONNECTION
BONUS: 7 things to send to your email list after a big show
NO CURE vocalist Blaythe Steuer said from stage at Furnace Fest that he better not catch anyone littering. The band is from Birmingham, Alabama.
I’m sure “mention littering” was not on the marketing plan, but the universe did its thing, and here we are.
Steuer could have said nothing, of course. But he mentioned littering, and this jaded dude who’s been going to shows for 30+ years thought it was funny.
I’ve added them to my Bandcamp wishlist, and streamed their catalog on Spotify.
My experience is not universal, though. Some people definitely littered at Furnace Fest.
Every action is still an action.
You react, or don’t.
Relate this to online marketing, which is a fancy way of saying “telling people about the thing you do.”
If you’re approaching your email newsletter as if it’s some precious store catalog, plain vanilla offering that you send every few months when you have something to sell, well… that’s an action, I guess.
SAY SOMETHING
You don’t have to send an email every day, but people signed up because they'd like to know what you're up to. They gave you their email address, and that’s a big deal.
We had no problem posting to socials 19 times a day, but we feel like sending an email once a week is spam, which is absolutely not true.
People signed up for your newsletter.
Send them a newsletter.
You might remember how I wrote about “40% OF THE BANDS PLAYING FURNACE FEST HAVE AN EMAIL LIST.” Since last Monday, when I signed up for those 36 newsletters, and only one band sent me an email (it was MXPX).
Here’s seven things you could send to your email list after a big event:
Photos of setting up, playing, and hanging out afterwards.
A handful of the photos you took with fans, and the super cool people you met backstage, like that guy that wears yellow glasses and writes about heavy metal email newsletters
Talk about some of your favorite bands that played
Explain how you picked your set list (include a photo)
Send a store discount, and the code word is the second song title from your set
Ask people who saw you at the event to reply to your email with photos they took, or their favorite song of the night (this can be helpful for building segments)
Share a funny / weird / dangerous / scary story that happened
After all this, it’s a perfect time to mention your upcoming tour, or that EP you just released.
Not in a band? Talk about your upcoming photo shoots, upcoming designs you’re working on, courses you’re teaching, bicycles you’re building - whatever!
People signed up for your newsletter.
Send them a newsletter.
OTHER THINGS I WROTE:
The audience you’re reaching on social media seems to enjoy your photos and writing and videos and commentary.
Why not share some of that with your email list audience?
From ‘SEND A WEEKLY EMAIL TO YOUR FANS’
Every bit of “content” we upload in the hopes of reaching our fans is being monetized by Elon and Zuck, all while they throttle reach and charge us money to reach a small percentage of your followers.
From ‘MAKE COOL STUFF, SHOW IT TO YOUR FANS’
I’m Seth Werkheiser.
I help artists reach fans with email newsletters.
Support this work and buy me an album from my Bandcamp wishlist or become a paid subscriber. Maybe we can work together!
Email: seth@closemondays.com
Web: closemondays.com